Last Resort
by Athena
Summary: A slight AU after the final battle. The party encounters a familiar face on the way down the Nia Khera Hallowmont.


_Notes:_ Characters? All of those who left Temporal Terminus at the end of Tales of Xillia. Plus my obvious favorite. Warnings for blood, craziness, and ending spoilers (right there in the second paragraph).

This was practice in trying to juggle numerous characters in a scene. Here's hoping it reads okay!

* * *

><p><strong>"Last Resort"<strong>

A bloody trail greeted Jude and the others as they carefully made their way down the Nia Khera Hallowmont.

Though they had entered the Temporal Terminus through Elympios, Milla used what power she had over the fading space to deliver them safely back on Rieze Maxia. Six entered the rift and six left—with Milla replaced by Gaius on the return trip. Gaius was a grim figure, still standing straight and proud despite the wounds that marked his body; he obviously had much to think about, now traveling down a mountain with those who had defeated him and halted his plans to retain the schism.

"Something dangerous passed through ahead of us," Rowen commented as he and Jude stopped to scrutinize the blood trail. "Whatever it is, we did not encounter it when we were last here."

Alvin, who had been rather gloomy himself after the abrupt revisit to Presa's place of death, folded his arms and tried to peer over the edge of the mountain face—only to be pulled back by an alarmed Leia. "—Sorry, sorry. The spirit clime's supposed to be pretty stable here, right? Maybe dispelling the schism disturbed one of the larger monsters and it rampaged."

Rowen shook his head. "The blood trail is rather distinct for a rampaging monster."

"It's human." There was an uneasy silence from the others following Gaius' words; he had not said anything since they left that strange space between worlds. He pointed to a swath of blood across a boulder. "That is the result of someone shaking blood off their sword."

Leia shifted from one foot to the other, her wariness increasing as they began walking again. "You think it might be…" She trailed off, glancing at Gaius before quickly refocusing her gaze on Rowen. Even if she didn't finish that thought, she knew that Rowen would catch on.

No one answered. While they had not confirmed Wingul's death, he had been greatly injured and seized by some kind of malfunction with his booster before they were sent falling deeper into the Temporal Crossroads.

What they found halfway down the mountain was a small pile of carcasses—splintered tree monsters, still smoking from various burning wounds, and harpy creatures, bleeding and stripped of their feathered limbs. A white-haired figure sat on top of the pile, idly rocking his sword back and forth into the badly damaged thigh of one of the dead harpies before stabbing into another section and continuing, like some morbid game.

"Wingul."

Rowen was the one to voice his surprise, more taken aback by his appearance than the fact that he was still alive; the young man was covered in gore, his visible dark clothing singed and torn from battles unknown. When Wingul lifted his head in acknowledgment, Rowen felt Elize press against his back to muffle a gasp of shock.

Blood covered his face, streaked over pale cheeks and to the edge of his hairline like a savage warrior's face paint. When he blinked at them, his eyes seemed to glow with unnatural light that had never been present when he had previously fought them with his activated booster.

But that smile. That mad smile on his face was terrible and familiar, and yet warped underneath those glowing eyes.

Gaius stepped forward the moment he heard Alvin shift and ready his firearm, his eyes never leaving the young swordsman who swayed as he stood on the monsters he had obviously slaughtered.

_"Hiirusu."_ Wingul's voice was dark in tone, followed by a guttural laugh that carried on the Hallowmont's wind. _"Eruunun?"_

"Wingul." Even unarmed, Gaius looked composed and ready as he took another step towards the other man. His voice was firm, not questioning how or why Wingul stood there with such a disturbing appearance. "Stand down."

Despite the fact that Gaius had been standing close to the front of the group the entire time, Wingul only seemed to take notice of him when he spoke—a troubling sign, Gaius thought to himself. That smile disappeared as he acknowledged the king with a slight swing of his sword. _"Tian'ya saiorudu vun dun'edu!"_ Aggravated and accusatory, his voice grew louder with each word. _"Gaius!"_

The loud _bang_ of Alvin's gun punctuated the tension of the situation, but Wingul was already moving forward with incredible speed, dodging the blast of fire sprayed in his direction. Gaius stepped back to evade an erratic swing, waving off Jude's assistance with his free hand as he struck Wingul's blade with his armguard. The sword shook in the enraged man's grip, but he drew back once more to strike at his king.

Leia's rod came down on Wingul's sword as he raised it, knocking the blade off course and slowing it enough that Gaius could again step back. Jude was quick to fill the space Gaius vacated, following up the earlier attacks with a strong punch at Wingul's wrist to disarm him. Even as his sword clattered to the ground, the leader of the Chimeriad roared and leapt back, the air around him sparking with heat and electricity.

"Don't let him channel!" Rowen yelled, not needing to see the way Wingul splayed a hand forward to know what he intended to do. "It will kill him in his state!"

Distantly, Gaius felt a wave of gratitude towards the Conductor for trying to spare Wingul's life. He wished for a sword in that moment, for the precision that it would offer as he rushed forward alongside Jude and Leia.

But something reached Wingul faster than all of them. A dark blur that charged past Gaius' shoulder and above Leia and Jude's heads.

Wingul stumbled backwards as he was struck, his arm falling limply to his side and the heat in the air returning to normal as the flow of mana dissipated. All three who had advanced stumbled to a stop as their opponent was abruptly rendered faceless.

_"Teepo?"_ The incredulous cries echoed across the ridge.

Elize slowly moved towards the center of the conflict, Rowen following after her with a similar agape expression as all the others present. She chewed on her bottom lip as Teepo remained latched onto Wingul's face.

"I'm sorry. It seemed like the only way to stop him." She risked a glance up at Gaius' face as she reached his side, brows drawing together with worry as she noticed his wide eyes. Balling her hands into fists, she turned and shouted. "Teepo!"

"He's so _tasty_!" The floating doll gushed as he continued to loudly slurp energy from the man. As Wingul blindly sank down to his knees, Teepo finally released him with a satisfied, rubbery smack of his lips. "Whew! So satisfying!"

Gaius relaxed as he noticed Wingul's hair had finally faded back to its normal black, kneeling next to him and taking hold of his shoulders. A weak groan escaped the young man, but his eyes remained shut as he slumped against his king's arms.

Alvin sighed in relief, resting a hand on Elize's head. "You did good, Elize."

Even as Elize blushed with pride, Teepo huffed indignantly and promptly decided to eat Alvin's face next.

* * *

><p><em>Notes<br>_I love happy endings. Don't you?

"Hiirusu." = "Fools."

"Eruunun?" = "Alive?"

"Tian'ya saiorudu vun dun'edu!" = "They should be dead!"


End file.
